


Tess

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [133]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 10:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12079326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: William has a surprise for his brothers and sisters.





	Tess

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further. 
> 
> This installment is 110/133. The installment list has grown too long for the notes section. You can now find the chronological list for the series, with hyperlinks, at http://archiveofourown.org/works/11051019
> 
> If you are new to the series, welcome.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

Artwork by ligiapimenta

 

William found a parking space on his dad’s tree lined street. It was still too early on a Sunday morning for most of the world to be up, but he hadn’t been to bed yet. He’d gone on an unsanctioned patrol in the Glades and rescued a damsel in distress. His night had been spent holding her as a doctor performed his examination. Once she’d gotten the all clear, he’d driven straight to his dad’s. He lifted the gift he had for his siblings and hid it in his coat. The world might be sleeping, but he had no doubt that his siblings would be up and running around.

The sound of cartoons greeted William as he opened the front door of his dad’s home. He moved quietly through the downstairs and found his siblings in the family room on the sofa together, watching television.

“What are we watching?” William asked.

In perfect synchrony, all four of his siblings turned towards the sound of his voice and broke out into matching smiles. “Will,” they cried as they scrambled from the sofa to greet him.

He held out his hand to caution them, “I have a surprise for you.”

All four children bounced with excitement.

“What is it?” Becca held out her hands.

“Let’s sit on the floor in a circle,” he instructed. Once his siblings were seated he said, “Okay, close your eyes.”

They all squeezed their eyes shut and squirmed as they awaited further instructions. William opened his coat and retrieved his present, “You can open your eyes.”

“You got us a puppy?” Becca asked excitedly. A look of disappointment clouded her face. “Or is it yours?” she asked tentatively.

“He can’t have a puppy at college,” Bobby said as he stroked the puppy’s head.

“It’s ours?” Becca sounded amazed.

“She’s for all of you,” William answered with a smile. The black ball of fluff squirmed in his arms and he placed her on the floor.

The seven pound puppy went straight for Becca who had her arms out and was giving words of encouragement, “Come here, puppy.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Bobby asked.

“It’s a girl,” William answered.

Bobby smiled and scratched the top of the puppy’s head, “Just like Hildy.”

William missed the large red dog that had made him feel like family from the moment he stepped through the front door for the first time. It was hard to believe she’d been gone for a year. The family hadn’t seemed whole since they lost Hildy. He missed having a dog greet him whenever he visited. He ruffled his brother’s hair, “Just like Hildy.”

“Who wants pancakes?” Oliver asked sleepily as he entered the kitchen.

Five sets of eyes flew to their dad and each child held their breath and waited.

Oliver opened the refrigerator, but his hand froze as he reached for the milk. He slowly closed the stainless-steel door. “Morning, William. Late night or early morning?”

“Late night,” William answered and got to his feet. He shifted from one foot to the other as he waited for his dad to reproach him for being out on the streets without him knowing.

“Is that a puppy?” Oliver asked without turning around.

“It’s a girl. Just like Hildy,” Becca said with excitement.

Oliver turned around and sighed. He pointed at his eldest, “You’re telling Tommy.”

“We can keep her?” Bobby asked.

“It looks like she’s already ours,” Oliver said as he watched the puppy lick Prue’s face.

“What are we going to call you?” Becca asked the puppy.

“Mommy gets to name all babies and puppies,” Oliver told his children. When Becca gave him a disappointed look he said, “Those are the rules.”

Becca frowned, “Okay.”

Oliver pointed to the laundry room, “Bobby, go get Hildy’s puppy bowls from her cabinet. William and I will get her crate from the basement.”

William followed his dad into the basement. “I found her in a dumpster, I couldn’t leave her there. She’s been to the vet. She had her first round of shots,” William said in a rush. He feared that bringing a new puppy into the house without asking first could be seen as a huge overstep and not as the gesture of love he intended.

“If I go online, how many reports am I going to see about the Archer running around town?” Oliver asked as he lifted Hildy’s puppy crate off a shelf.

“Dad,” William started nervously.

“No, don’t dad me,” Oliver said firmly. “We don’t go out on the streets without backup. You didn’t have anyone running coms. That’s dangerous. Not only to you, but to the rest of us too.”

“I was just practicing my parkour,” William explained. “I wasn’t looking for trouble.”

Oliver handed the crate to William and William winced as his ribs pulled. Oliver took the crate from his son and placed it on the floor. “No, but it appears that trouble found you. How badly are you hurt?”

William hadn’t been looking for trouble when he went out the night before. He wanted to work on climbing fences and scaling buildings. He had twenty years on his dad, but he was still slower than him and Roy when navigating the city on foot. His dad and uncle seemed to know every nook and cranny in the city. They never found themselves running into blind alleys or dead ends. William needed to get better if his dad, Roy and Felicity were ever going to trust him on the streets. He looked at his feet, “It’s just a couple of bruises. I found a guy breaking into a liquor store. He had a pipe.”

Oliver sighed, “Let’s see.”

William lifted his shirt to reveal a large bruise on his right side.

“When you go upstairs to tell Tommy about the puppy, you can have Felicity look at your ribs,” Oliver picked up the crate.

“She’s going to yell at me,” William whined. He was more than a little afraid of his step-mother. For someone as small as she was, she had a terrifyingly loud voice when she was angry.

Oliver grinned, “I know.”

“Dad,” William pleaded as they climbed the basement stairs. He hoped his dad would take pity on him. William wasn’t the only Queen man afraid of Felicity Smoak.

“What’s Roy’s first rule of Team Arrow?” Oliver asked.

William sighed, “Don’t piss off Overwatch.”

“Yeah, well, it’s safe to say, running around last night is going to piss off Overwatch. Go face the music,” Oliver nodded to the stairs.

William trudged up the stairs to the second story. He stood outside his dad’s closed bedroom door and knocked softly, “It’s William.”

The bedroom door opened and Tommy greeted him with a towel draped over his damp head. His step-father had dark circles under his eyes and looked tired. After Zatanna, the kids didn’t seem to have any lingering effects from their kidnapping ordeal, but Tommy didn’t appear to be so lucky. William had overheard his dad telling Diggle that Tommy was having nightmares. William had to force himself from looking at the spot on Tommy’s bare chest where a scar from a bullet wound should be. If he hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have believed the Lazarus Pit had the power to bring someone back from the dead.

“You’re up early,” Tommy stepped aside to allow his stepson to enter, “or haven’t you been to bed yet?”

Felicity was brushing her teeth as she stepped out of the bathroom. “You okay?” she asked around a mouthful of foam.

“Dad sent me up.” William shifted on his feet. “I found a puppy on patrol last night. She’s downstairs with the kids.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes and held up a finger. She disappeared into the bathroom and then returned without the tooth brush. “You went on patrol last night? Was Roy with you?”

“No, I was alone,” William flinched in anticipation of Felicity’s loud voice. He’d hoped that she’d focus in on the puppy part of his statement, not the patrol part.

“That’s unacceptable,” Tommy said before Felicity opened her mouth. “This is exactly why I said you shouldn’t be allowed to join the team. You’re too young.”

“Tommy, I’m the same age Uncle Roy was,” William half-heartedly defended himself. He hadn’t anticipated Tommy to be the parent to be the most upset.

“Felicity, did Roy ever go out without you, or Dig, or Ollie knowing he was out on the street?” Tommy asked without taking his eyes from William.

“No, because even Roy was never stupid enough not to be afraid of Oliver, Dig or me,” Felicity said. “Going out on patrol alone is stupid. Your dad brought Dig and me in because he knew how reckless it was for him to do this alone. What if you got hurt? We wouldn’t have known. We couldn’t have helped you.”

Tommy had a moment of recognition before he folded his arms across his chest, “You did get hurt. That’s why Ollie sent you upstairs.”

William lifted his shirt to reveal his bruise, “A burglar had a pipe.”

Felicity was instantly at William’s side. Her gentle fingers probed his ribs. “I had really hoped you weren’t as big an idiot as your dad. I thought you had more sense at twenty than he did at twenty-seven, but I can see that I was wrong.”

“Ow,” William hissed when Felicity pushed against a rib.

“I hope it hurts,” Felicity pushed on his leather jacket, until it slipped from his shoulders. “Nothing appears broken, but I’m going to tape them anyway. Take your shirt off.”

“You’re grounded,” Tommy said as he disappeared into the closet.

“You can’t ground me. I’m twenty,” William reminded his step-father.

Tommy returned to the bedroom, pulling on a shirt, “I think you’ll find that I have complete authority to ground every child in this household, including you.”

“Take off your shirt,” Felicity instructed.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Tommy told William. “You’re going to spend the next two weeks living here, not in the dorm. You’re going to be home for dinner, every night. No friends. No partying. No foundry.” Tommy pointed at his step-son, “No flirting with Emma, either. I’ll let you know what household chores are now yours – but I’d get familiar with a toilet brush.”

“Tommy,” William said as he carefully removed his shirt.

“No, don’t Tommy me. There are rules in this family and you just violated a huge one. You don’t seem to realize that if I go downstairs and tell your dad that you’re done with Team Arrow, that’s it, you’re done. He might be your dad, but he’s my husband. That gives me all the power in this situation. Do you understand?”

William nodded his head. One of the first things he learned when he joined this family was that while Oliver, Felicity and Tommy were equals in their relationship, Tommy’s opinion often seemed to carry more weight with both Oliver and Felicity.

“I told you when this started that if you weren’t telling Sam what you’re up to, I got to be your mom’s voice. Well, this is your mother telling you that you’re grounded for two weeks.”

William went to protest, but Felicity interrupted him, “Don’t argue. Tommy’s right. Oliver gave him complete veto power over you being on the team. If you’re not afraid of your dad, Dig, Roy, or me, you should be afraid of Tommy.”

“Oh,” Tommy said as he pulled a pair of socks from a drawer, “you’re cleaning up any and all accidents this puppy has while you’re home.”

“Okay,” William agreed. “I’m sorry about going on patrol.”

Tommy looked into William’s eyes before shaking his head, “You’re too much like your dad. I don’t think you’re sorry at all.”

“Tommy,” William said plaintively, “I won’t do it again.”

“No, you won’t, or you’ll be hanging up your bow and arrow, for good.”

Tommy kissed Felicity’s cheek, “I’m going to go check on the kids and our new puppy.”

“Raise your arms,” Felicity instructed.

William lifted his arms, “I was expecting you to be angry, not Tommy.”

“I am angry,” Felicity said as she applied the first piece of tape to his ribs. “Tommy is just angrier. He didn’t want you doing this in the first place. He’s spent the last fifteen years not wanting your dad to do this. You do realize how dangerous your decision to go out alone was, right? At least realize how dangerous it was. This guy with a pipe – he could’ve had a gun or a knife. He could’ve hit you harder or on the head.”

“But none of those things happened,” William countered. He didn’t think his choice had been the wrong one. He’d been out practicing and happened upon a robbery. It wasn’t like he could just walk away when a crime was happening right in front of him.

Felicity turned her back and slid her pajama top off her shoulder to reveal a scar from a bullet wound, “I didn’t expect to get shot.” She turned back around, “Your dad, Roy and Dig have plenty of scars from patrols that were supposed to be routine. This isn’t a game. Every time you put on your suit and step out the foundry doors, that’s you making a conscious choice that you might not come back. You are risking your life, every time you step outside with your bow across your back. The team has rules for a reason. My boys are all still alive for a reason. We’ve also been extremely lucky over the years, I don’t want our luck to run out with you.” Felicity smoothed her hand over the tape she’d finished applying. She held out her hand and placed two pills into his hand, “Take these with breakfast. I want you to lay down as soon as you’re done eating. The only thing that helps ribs heal is rest.”

“Tommy’s not really serious about me being grounded?” William asked nervously. He hadn’t been grounded in a long time. He also had plans for the following weekend.

Felicity looked at him with pity, “I imagine he’s just told Oliver the terms of your punishment. You have a choice, you can do what Tommy tells you or you can hang up your hood.”

“I’m not giving up my hood,” William scowled.

“I guess that means we’ll be seeing a lot more of you,” Felicity teased.

“Would Oliver really make me stop if Tommy said so?” William pulled his shirt back on. “I get the whole spousal privilege thing, but isn’t this a Team Arrow thing? I thought Tommy had put up a firewall between himself and Team Arrow activities.”

Felicity gathered up her medical supplies, “The thing is, you putting on a mask, that’s not a Team Arrow thing, that’s a family thing. When you showed up on our doorstep, you didn’t just get one dad, you got two. The sooner you realize that Tommy doesn’t view you any differently than our four children downstairs, the sooner you’ll realize, that yes, when it comes to our children Tommy gets an equal say.”

“Yeah, but it’s not an equal say if he’s the only one saying, no,” William said as he followed her to the bathroom.

Felicity smiled sympathetically as she put her supplies away, “People often wonder how our relationship works. They mistakenly think its majority rules. That might be the case with takeout, but it’s not how we make real decisions about this family. It’s either a unanimous decision or it isn’t. It doesn’t mean we don’t try to persuade each other, but it does mean that the one of us with the minority opinion doesn’t feel resentful or unheard.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” William said as he followed Felicity back into the bedroom and out into the hall.

“Marriage isn’t about getting your way. It’s about making decisions that are best for your family and, sometimes, that means compromise, and, other times, it means you don’t get what you want,” she explained.

William wrinkled his nose. He didn’t know why anyone would want to get married. “That sounds terrible,” he admitted.

Felicity laughed, “Yeah, sometimes being married sucks. It’s hard work being in a relationship with people who have thoughts and desires separate from your own. You have to figure out ways to grow together or you’ll tear each other apart. There are days I long for my old townhouse and the peace and quiet of spending a night on my couch sipping wine and watching whatever I want, but then I remember how lucky I am to have all this. The compromises stop seeming quite so terrible and more like acts of grace.”

“Mommy,” Becca said running towards Felicity with the new puppy in her hands, “Will got us a puppy.”

Felicity knelt and took the puppy from Becca’s hands, “I can see that, sweet pea.” Felicity cuddled the puppy to her chest.

“Daddy says you get to name all kids and puppies,” Becca informed her mother. “What are you going to name her?”

Felicity looked up at her husband and Oliver winked at her, “He did, did he?”

“Yes,” Becca nodded vigorously.

“What do you think, babe?” Felicity rose to her feet and approached Tommy, “Which movie heroine should I go with?” She turned the puppy to face her husband, “Does she look like a Katherine Hepburn or Claudette Colbert?”

Tommy took the puppy from Felicity and held her against his chest. “Tracy,” he called. The puppy didn’t respond. “Ellie,” he tried again. The puppy remained still. “Tess,” Tommy cooed.

The puppy lifted her head and looked at Tommy.

“Tess,” Felicity called.

The puppy swung her head towards Felicity and her small tail wagged back and forth.

Felicity took the puppy back from Tommy, “Tess, it is.”

“Tess?” William asked his step-parents. “What movie is that from?”

Bobby spoke without turning from the television, “Tess is Katherine Hepburn’s character in, Woman of the Year.”

“I haven’t seen it,” William admitted.

Bobby looked at his brother with surprise and shrugged, “She can’t cook, just like mom.”

“Hey,” Felicity said with a laugh.

“You’re a better cook than Elizabeth Lane,” Bobby flopped over on the sofa laughing.

“I’m afraid to ask,” William said as he chuckled at his little brother’s fit of laughter.

“Christmas in Connecticut,” Becca informed her big brother.

“We need to work on your movie education.” Felicity handed William the puppy, “I think she needs to go out.”

William took the puppy from Felicity and then took Becca’s hand, “You can supervise.”

He crossed the kitchen and was unsurprised to find he had a trail of siblings behind him. Bobby held the twins’ hands as they climbed down the patio stairs. William placed the puppy on the grass.

“Come on, Tess,” Becca encouraged the puppy as she ran after Bobby.

The twins toddled after Becca and Tess gave chase.

William turned to find his dad, Felicity and Tommy standing in the window watching their children. Felicity was flanked by her husbands and smiling at whatever Oliver was saying to her. A warmth radiated through his chest as he realized that he was a member of this family, not just an observer. Getting grounded sucked, but it meant that he belonged, which was all he was looking for when he first rang the doorbell and introduced himself to Tommy.

A tug on his pant leg drew his attention away from the window. The twins stood staring up at him with their arms raised above their heads. Nate made the sign for, up. William scooped the twins under his arms and joined Bobby, Becca and Tess in their game of chase.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Hearing from you is my favorite part of the day.
> 
> Prompt requests are encouraged.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


End file.
